1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to electronic shopping; and more specifically, the invention relates to an approval process in an electronic requisitioning system.
2. Background Art
With the growth of the Internet and electronic commerce, businesses are beginning to use electronic requisitioning systems. In these systems, a person who wants to make a purchase on behalf of the business prepares an electronic purchase order, obtains the appropriate approval within the business, and then electronically sends the order to a supplier.
It is believed that current electronic requisition systems can be improved. For instance, it is believed that the amount of time needed to complete the approval process can be shortened. To elaborate, with current systems, several factors contribute to the length of time needed for the approval process. First, there may be a delay between the submission of a request and the time the request is available to the first approver. Also, when the approval of multiple approvers is needed, the approvers may act in series, one after another. This can result in lengthy delays before all the approvals are obtained, especially if one of the approvers is not available for several days or longer. Moreover, current systems are designed primarily for use in one language, and this tends to limit the geographic scope of the system.